PR4 MRV Contrabando do Café

Share Image

From the outset and despite the uneven landscape terrain, it becomes apparent that this is the cork oak kingdom. Continuous tree groves of this species, only interrupted by the granite outcroppings and the cultivated valleys, accompany us for most of the pathway. Along this path we will find a set of three small border villages - Galegos, Monte de Baixo and Pitaranha - which suggest a close complicity with their Spanish counterpart, La Fontañera, an area where smugglers used to traffic coffee. Narrow and winding paths, sometimes on medieval stone-paved roadways flanked by walls and hidden in the shade of leafy oak trees, were once smugglers’ paths. Now, they guide us through the same landscapes but on other adventures. On the way up to Pitaranha we view the hill of Marvão Castle. Already on the village outskirts we can see part of Porto de Roque ridge, a steep crag that is part of a narrow but long rocky ridge that extends along the border and serves as a shelter for colonies of griffon vultures, a large gliding bird which often patrols these border skies. NATURE: in cork oak forests we find the white Spanish broom (Cytisus multiflorus) and the rare Solomon's seal (Polygonatum odoratum). Bird species: great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopus major); chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs), griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus); and raven (Corvus corax). Special mention goes to the giant peacock moth (Saturnia pyri), the largest nocturnal European moth (wing span of up to 15 cm) and the demoiselles damselflies (Calopteryx spp.). HANDICRAFT: traditional embroidery with chestnut peel; basketry in chestnut tree wood. GASTRONOMY: soup of sarapatel; lamb stew; cachafrito of little goat; alhada of dogfish; thin bread with chestnuts. Sweets (chestnut cake, apple boleima, aramenha pie). Chestnut (Protected Designation of Origin).